SO.
in the certain city where i reside, the bus union has decided that it is time for them to strike.
maybe i am biased, but to me this is clearly a very strategic time, and the strategy is aimed right at the hearts of the students.
obviously, students are the main users of the bussing system. we are dirt poor, and unless we live with our parents, we can't usually afford a car, the insurance required to legally drive said car, nor could we (up until recently) afford gas. the obvious choice for the average, non-wealthy, non-parent's house living student is the bus. it goes everywhere, at many times of day, and is about as cheap as it gets.
sure, it smells, people wipe their snot on the seats, and it rarely shows up when the signs say it will, but it becomes a very necessary part of the poor student's life. it is how we are able to spend time with friends, go grocery shopping, get to our menial part time jobs that provide us with enough money to survive, oh and also
WE LIKE TO USE IT TO GET TO OUR BLOODY EXAMS.
yes, ladies and gentlemen, this certain city's transpo has decided to strike right smack in the middle of exam season.
here is what i assume they think (hope) will happen.
bus's go on strike, and students are devastated because now they can't get to their exams. they realize that the city's suggestion of "carpooling" is ludicrous due to the fact that most of us DON'T OWN CARS. they figure we will all be so lost and disoriented that we will all phone the city and say "for the love of all that is holy, just give them what they want so we can ride our beloved bus!!" then they assume that the city will give in, and they will get their ridiculous 10.5% pay raise. then, of course, they are the ones in power, because any time in the future that they want absolutely anything, they can just have a strike right in exam times (preferably in the winter, so that students wouldn't dare try to walk for fear of becoming a human popsicle) and they will get whatever the hell their vacant hearts desire.
and, perhaps there will be students who do just that.
but what these transpo jerks don't realize is that we university students are pretty damn crafty. we're in university for a reason yo! we can find other ways. for some it's harder than others, that's true, and certainly, there will be students who have a really hard time dealing with this strike, and my heart honestly goes out to them, because if it wasn't for my aunt with a spare car, i would be one of them.
despite all that, here is what i really hope happens:
the transpo strike goes the way of the hockey strike.
they go on strike,
a few people are really upset,
but most people don't give a shit.
then, when they realize that the world goes on without them, they can come back to the city with their tails between their legs and sheepishly accept a much lower offer than they were offered yesterday, before they were on strike.
the whole concept of the "strike" has always baffled me, and also pissed me off. let us ponder strikes we have dealt with in the past....
it seems to me that these strikes usually do very little to hurt the people they are pissed off at. the bus drivers are pissed at the city government, so they go on strike. do you think any people working for the city government take the damn bus?? i think not. so they hurt the students, the low income families, the people trying to do their part for the environment. its like the very low scale equivalent to getting in a fight with someone, and holding a gun to someone else's head and saying "i will shoot them if you don't do what i say"
we didn't do anything.
if anything, we should strike against them! they are the ones who are always, ALWAYS late. the ones who drive past us when its 20 below and the bus is half empty. the ones who stop at friggin tim hortons for a coffee when you are just trying to get to work on time!!!
what would they do if we did this to them? a strike that actually affected the guilty party?
i'm a realistic girl, and i'll tell you right now as soon as those bus bastards get their prissy asses back in their bus driver seats, i'll be giving my aunt's car back, and getting back on the stupid bus. why? because i have no choice. i believe i mentionned above that i am dirt poor. what i know, is that we really have to hear the message here, and blame the right people.
they are putting a sour taste in the mouth of everyone who relies on public transit here, and i believe that is the opposite of what we want. we should be encouraging it, not making bus goers desire to scream obscenities at their driver when they get off the bus, instead of "thank you"
what it comes down to is, have your money war, if you think bus driving is that high tech of a job, but leave us little guys out of it...we are not your hostages.
